Photography and Social Reform
John Gizzi
ART 125
September 28, 2015
Sarah Baer

After watching the video and reading through the assigned readings for the week it became very clear how big of a role photography played during the great depression. Roy Stryker and his team of photographers had a nearly impossible challenge to move and motivate an entire country. Their original job was to convince congress that the millions of displaced Americans desperately needed the government’s assistance. However this was a tough notion to sell to congress and the rest of Americans who were not living through the struggles themselves. There was a huge disconnect between the families affected by the depression and families that had made it through the depression unscathed. The photograph was used by
Stryker and his team to document the reality of what was happening all over the American country side. They had to present it in such a way that it did not come across as propaganda. At the time Americans were fed up with the government’s propaganda following the war. The photographs took during this time were able to put a human face and emotion to the barren fields and deserted farms. Photos were used as a tool to communicate the truth and stories of millions of victims of the Great Depression. These iconic photos spoke more than a thousand words, they evoked emotions and understanding throughout the United States. These photos had the power to unite an entire nation.
During this course, I examined many photos from the great depression. The one that hold the most powerful is the photo from Dorothea Lange called Migrant Mother. I truly feel like this photo sums up the real struggles of American families during the great depression. This photo shows the firsthand account of the devastating impact on the people. The photo makes you connect and sympathize with the mother and it makes you feel the pain and struggle she is dealing with. Florence was a mother of nine children. When her pea crop failed her family was forced to sell their belongings and farm in search of food. The look on her face show just how unsure the future is for her and her children. The emotions evoked in this photos I feel can be universally assigned to all struggling during the great depression.

Migrant Mother, Dorothea Lange, 1936

Migrant Mother, Dorothea Lange, 1936

References
History. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl/pictures/the-dust-bowl/boy-in-dust-bowl